The Hindu : National : Pension bill a `fraud' on staff: CPI

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Wednesday, Jul 06, 2005

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Pension bill a `fraud' on staff: CPI

Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India has asked the Government to reject the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill and described it as a "fraud on the Central Government employees, and a false promise to deliver benefit to the unorganised masses.''

Submitting a dissenting note before the Parliamentary Standing Committee that held its final meeting here on Tuesday, Gurudas Dasgupta, CPI MP, said the concerns expressed by a large number of trade unions were not reflected in the report.

Escaping responsibility

The unions had opposed the Bill on the grounds that Government was trying to escape from its responsibility of providing social security to its employees and elderly people, Mr. Dasgupta said. He is a member of the committee and general secretary of the All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC).

Pointing out that the private fund managers, particularly foreigners, might flee the country leaving the poor employees in the lurch, Mr. Dasgupta said the safeguards suggested were nothing but a "farce''. He said, in the initial years the entire investment must be only in government securities with guaranteed returns. Public sector fund managers could be the best optionto leave no scope for investment in the capital market. "But these qualitative changes cannot be brought in the Bill as it is against the basic structure of the draft whose sole aim is to channelise the funds to the stock market to boost the sensex,'' Mr. Dasgupta said.

He said no foreign direct investment should be allowed in this sector, as the poor man's savings could not be allowed to be used by foreigners to their advantage. Existence of over-bearing regulatory mechanisms in the Bill vested extraordinary powers in PFRDA, which should be curbed.

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